Happy Won’t Look Wednesday from Newport, Rhode Island!

William T. Potter purchased this piece of land in 1844 and built the Atlantic House Hotel, which was home to the U.S. Naval Academy during the Civil War (1861-1863). In order to protect it from attack by confederate forces, the academy was moved here from its location in Annapolis, Md.

The hotel was demolished in 1877 to make way for the current building, Packgate, designed by Newport architect, George Champlin Mason for Seth B. Stitt of Philadelphia, and constructed in 1879. It was purchased by the Newport Lodge #104 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in 1920, and remains an Elks Lodge today.